NOSE TACKLE IS BIG PIECE OF SUPER BOWL PUZZLE

A nose tackle occupies the center of a defensive line. Sacrificing for the greater good, he bears the brunt of the offense’s foremost battering rams.

It’s not rare for him to joust with two blockers who together weigh 600 pounds or more.

The Chargers seemingly could use another nose tackle to assist the two on their roster, and most NFL Draft analysts say Nix, who manned the job for 34 games at Notre Dame, is the best one in his draft class and a potential first-round selection.

It’s easy to see why. He is 6-foot-2, 331 pounds and broad of frame, and when he was in peak form two years ago, he outmaneuvered several blockers. Even against mighty Alabama, which smashed Notre Dame in the 2012 national title game, Nix held his own.

Defensive players are fond of a stout nose tackle, because he frees them up to chase running backs.

On pass plays, if a nose tackle can disrupt the quarterback, that’s a fat cherry on top of the sundae.

Someone so large seldom can move so fast and far. Get a special nose tackle for your “3-4” defense, and you’ll go to the Super Bowl. That’s the recent history.

Where do NFL teams find them?

If they find one at all — and many clubs either have to spackle the position or scheme up other options — the first round of the draft seems the best place.

The last three Super Bowl winners that ran a 3-4 defense, which is the Chargers’ main design, drafted a difference-making nose tackle in the first round.

The Packers’ Super Bowl season of 2010 coincided with the lone standout year to date from B.J. Raji, a nimble 6-2, 332-pounder from Boston College taken ninth in 2009. One of several fine seasons from Oregon alumnus Haloti Ngata, who is 6-4, 338 and brute-strong, assisted the ’12 Ravens. For the Steelers’ three Super Bowl teams of the 2000s, the line’s anchor was Casey Hampton, a 6-1 320-pounder chosen 19th out of Texas.

And for the Patriots, who prefer a 3-4 scheme, it was a 2001 first-round draftee in Vince Wilfork (21st, Miami Hurricanes) who manned the position in their Super Bowl seasons of 2007 and 2011 that ended with losses to the Giants.

The aforementioned four nose tackles have all reached at least one Pro Bowl, with 16 appearances as a group.

Their average draft slot was 15th.

Wilfork, who in his prime chased down a few quarterbacks, is likely to receive votes for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Among his admirers is Chargers linebacker Donald Butler.

In March, when a since-resolved salary dispute threatened to make Wilfork a free agent, Butler took to Twitter, seemingly with adrenaline soaring. His Tweet: “I want #vincewilfork!!!”

Butler also praised other Chargers defenders, including nose tackle Sean Lissemore, a 303-pounder who contributed to the team winning a playoff berth last year. The linebacker was merely implying the obvious, that a top-flight nose tackle would be a boon to any defense.

The question of Nix becoming a special NFL nose tackle would spark a fun debate. He started 11 games as a sophomore after sitting out his freshman year to get used to college rigors and improve his conditioning. As a junior, he looked like a potential NFL standout.

Nix was less effective in 2013. In September, he was heavier and slower. He was knocked to the ground more often. His hands remained quick, but it was an up and down season. Following his eight games, he had surgery to repair torn meniscus in his left knee.

Sleeker by February, Nix weighed 331 at the NFL Combine.

The Chargers have the 25th pick, followed by No. 57. The last nose tackle they drafted, Cam Thomas, was a fifth-round selection in 2010.